SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 2025

SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002kh1l)
Barber's Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's Sixth Symphony

The German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin plays Barber's Violin Concerto with the American violinist Randall Goosby. Ryan Bancroft leads the orchestra in a piece by Gabriella Smith inspired by the Californian coast. Shostakovich's intriguing and unconventionally structured sixth symphony completes the programme. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Gabriella Smith (b.1991)
Tumblebird Contrails
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

12:43 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Barber Violin Concerto, Op 14
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Randall Goosby (violin), Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

01:07 AM
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)
Louisiana Blues Strut (encore)
Randall Goosby (violin)

01:10 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Symphony no 6 in B minor, Op 54
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

01:43 AM
Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1962)
Taaveti laul (David's psalm), "Onnis on inimene"
Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere (director)

01:46 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
La Notte (no 2 from 3 Odes funèbres)
Jos Van Immerseel (piano)

01:57 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Variations on an original theme ('Enigma') Op.36 for orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)

02:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Litaniae Lauretanae, K.195
Dita Paegle (soprano), Antra Bigaca (mezzo soprano), Martins Klisans (tenor), Janis Markovs (bass), Choir of Latvian Radio, Riga Chamber Players, Sigvards Kļava (conductor)

02:57 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
String Quartet in F major
Spirea Quartet

03:26 AM
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
Concerto for violin and horn in A major
Agata Raatz (violin), Zora Slokar (horn), Berner Kammerorchester, Graziella Contratto (conductor)

03:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Partita No 1 in B flat major, BWV 825
Zhang Zuo (piano)

04:08 AM
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Glory to Thee, My God, This Night
Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh (director)

04:11 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Trio No.6 from Essercizii Musici
Camerata Köln, Sabine Bauer (organ)

04:19 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to La Gazza ladra (The thieving magpie)
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Günter Pichler (conductor)

04:31 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), arr. Alan Civil
Suite for Brass Quintet
Brass Consort Köln

04:41 AM
Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Cantata: Lauft, ihr Hirten allzugleich (Run ye shepherds, to the light)
Salzburger Hofmusik, Wolfgang Brunner (director)

04:51 AM
Jay Capperauld (b.1989)
Circadian Refrains (172 Days Until Dawn)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)

05:01 AM
František Jiránek (1698-1778)
Bassoon Concerto in G minor
Sergio Azzolini (bassoon), Collegium Marianum

05:15 AM
Ester Mägi (1922-2021)
Ballad 'Tuule Tuba' (House of Wind)
Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli Akadeemiline Meeskoor [Academic Male Choir of Tallinn T, Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Arvo Volmer (conductor)

05:24 AM
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962)
Stonehenge
BBC Concert Orchestra, Anna-Maria Helsing (conductor)

05:43 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in A minor D.821 for arpeggione (or viola or cello) and piano
Lise Berthaud (viola), Francois Pinel (piano)

06:08 AM
Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758)
13 pieces from 'Drottningholmsmusiquen' (for the Swedish Royal Wedding of 1744)
Concerto Köln


SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002l218)
Launch the day with classical music

Hannah French presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m002kq5v)
Violinist Isabelle Faust talks Telemann

Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack to start the weekend.

Tom talks to German violinist Isabelle Faust about her unremitting tour schedule, how she finds new delights in the works she's been performing around the world for decades, and her newfound love of the Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann whose music she has just recorded for a new album with the Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Saturday Morning”.


SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002kq5x)
Jools meets Lang Lang

Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music and the beautiful connections with jazz and blues. With fascinating guests each week, who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.

Today, Jools is joined by one of the world's most famous classical musicians, the pianist Lang Lang, who introduces his new recording featuring a collection of his favourite pieces. He also shares some his most-loved recordings by the artists and composers he admires.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".


SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002kq5z)
400 Years of the Royal Collection

Windsor Castle

Ian Skelly explores the art and music of the largest occupied castle in the world, home to 40 monarchs since it was built by William the Conqueror. There is a wealth of art on display at Windsor Castle, including an ornate clock with a built-in miniature organ that plays tunes by Handel, and a remarkably life-like portrait of Joseph Haydn. Ian also ventures into some of the less public areas including the Royal Library, in which are kept some very special books and manuscripts – including scores by Purcell and Mendelssohn, and an early Shakespeare edition annotated by Charles I – and the Print Room, where Ian discovers a portrait of Nicholas Lanier, the first ever Master of the King’s Music. To accompany the tour, music by Handel, Haydn, Vaughan Williams, and one of Lanier’s 20th Century successors, Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen’s Music from 1975 to 2003.

2025 marks the 400th anniversary of the appointment of the first Master of the King’s Music, art dealer Nicholas Lanier, who built the foundations of what would become The Royal Collection. Today the Collection comprises some 700,000 pieces including major art works, manuscripts and instruments, from ancient times right up to the present day, spread over 13 royal residences in the UK.

In this landmark four-part series, Ian Skelly tours four of the most art-laden royal residences in the UK – Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Holyrood Palace – to explore the stories and musical connections behind some of the most fascinating objects in the Royal Collection, giving listeners special behind-doors access to these history-steeped locations.

Producer: Graham Rogers


SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002kq61)
Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major in Building a Library with Yshani Perinpanayagam and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

1405
Ben Gernon selects his choice of the best new releases

1500
Yshani Perinpanayagam picks her favourite recording of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major.

Following its successful premiere at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1932, by the pianist Marguerite Long, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major quickly toured across multiple European and American destinations, and became an instant hit. After attended the work's debut, the critic Émile Vuillermoz praised Ravel for his profound invention’ and ‘freshness of inspiration’, and yet the composer appears to have taken the concerti of Mozart and Saint-Saens as a structural model, even declaring that the concluding movement was conceived 'in accordance with the most immutable traditions'. Ravel's shimmering orchestration, deployment of instrumental effects, and jazz-inflected harmonies, nevertheless, belie the innovative spirit with which he imbued the work.

1545
Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Record Review”


SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m0025w83)
Alfred Hitchcock

From the driving energy of North By Northwest to the iconic string stabs of Psycho, music is an integral part of what makes Alfred Hitchcock's films stand out. Matthew Sweet finds out what makes them so good and looks at times when Hitchcock and his composers disagreed.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema".


SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002kddd)
Jess Gillam with... Ed Lyon

Jess Gillam and tenor Ed Lyon share the music they love.

This week Jess Gillam is joined by the singer Ed Lyon, a versatile tenor, celebrated for his interpretation of baroque repertoire. Ed plays Jess some tracks which mean a lot to him, including vocal works by Mozart and Monteverdi, and a something from the Russian American singer songwriter Regina Spektor. Jess brings along some musical discoveries too, including Shostakovich, and the contemporary Serbian composer Isidora Žebeljan.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”


SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002kq65)
Handel's Rodelinda

Superstar soprano Lucy Crowe sings the title role in this new Garsington Opera production, with Tim Mead as her husband King Bertarido and Ed Lyon as villainous usurper Grimoaldo; Peter Whelan conducts.

One of Handel’s most successful operas when first performed in 1725, and one of his most highly regarded in recent times, Rodelinda is an involving, taut, and remarkably modern drama. Grimoaldo drives the rightful king Bertarido from his kingdom; his wife Rodelinda is devastated by the news that Bertarido has been killed, and now she has to fend off the unwanted attentions of... Grimoaldo. But especially in this Garsington staging directed by Ruth Knight, Rodelinda is a tough cookie – "don't mess with her", says Lucy Crowe! – and she soon hatches a clever plan. And could it be that rumours of Bertarido's demise have been greatly exaggerated?

Presented by Andrew McGregor in conversation with Handel expert Suzanne Aspden.

Handel: Rodelinda
Rodelinda ..... Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Bertarido ..... Tim Mead (countertenor)
Grimoaldo ..... Ed Lyon (tenor)
Eduige, Bertarido's sister ..... Marvic Monreal (mezzo-soprano)
Unulfo, Bertarido's adviser ..... Hugh Cutting (countertenor)
Garibaldo, Grimoaldo's adviser ..... Brandon Cedel (bass-baritone)
The English Concert
Conductor Peter Whelan


SAT 21:35 Music Planet (m002kq67)
The Ukrainian Bandura in Three Tracks

Kathryn Tickell shares three traditional bandura tracks picked by Julian Kytasty, music director of the New York Bandura Ensemble. Born in Detroit but descending from a Ukrainian family of refugees who fled the country after World War II, Julian is a third generation player of the bandura, a stringed instrument similar to the lute and the zither and typical of Ukraine.

Elsewhere in the show, Kathryn selects new releases including Irish music performed on banjo and harmonica courtesy of Enda Scahill and Joel Andersson, improvisations on herdanger fiddle from Norway, and a resurfaced track from 1980s Rwanda from wife and husband duo Bizimungu Diudonne and Agnes Umbibizi.

Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

To listen on most smart speakers, just say, “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet”


SAT 22:35 New Music Show (m002kq69)
Sam Amidon's Listen List

Kate Molleson presents the usual mix of live recordings, new releases and interviews. Tonight we hear the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with Donghoon Shin's cello concerto Nachtergebung, inspired by the poetry of Georg Trakl; the BBC Philharmonic perform Ailís Ní Ríain's The Land Grows Weary of its Own, which reflects on climate change and bird populations; and Apartment House present a piano quintet by Icelandic composer Guðmundur Steinn Gunnarson recorded at London's Cafe Oto. Plus in the second of our new feature series Listen List, the American singer-songwriter Sam Amidon shares three tracks he thinks we should hear.

SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER 2025

SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002kq6c)
Brahms and Pejačević at the 2023 BBC Proms

Pianist Martin Helmchen joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo in Brahms' Piano Concerto no 2 plus Dora Pejačević's Symphony in F sharp minor. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piano Concerto no 2 in B flat major, Op 83
Martin Helmchen (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)

01:19 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Intermezzo in A major, Op 118 no 2
Martin Helmchen (piano)

01:25 AM
Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Symphony in F sharp minor, Op 41
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)

02:08 AM
Andrew York (b.1958)
Sanzen-in
Tornado Guitar Duo (duo)

02:14 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Four Songs, Op 17
Davos Festival Women's Choir, Magdalena Hoffmann (harp), Nicolas Ramez (french horn), François Rieu (french horn)

02:31 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Souvenir de Florence, Op 70
Vadim Repin (violin), Baiba Skride (violin), Andrei Ioniță (cello), Victor Fournelle-Blain (viola), Natalie Racine (viola), Anna Burden (cello)

03:06 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Quintet in D major for clarinet, horn, violin, cello and piano
Stephan Siegenthaler (clarinet), Thomas Müller (horn), Matthias Enderle (violin), Patrick Demenga (cello), Hiroko Sakagami (piano)

03:33 AM
Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960)
En bat med blommor (A boat with flowers), Op 44
Peter Mattei (baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

03:43 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Nocturne for piano in E flat minor, Op 33 no 1
Livia Rev (piano)

03:51 AM
Henry Eccles (c.1675-1745)
Sonata for double bass, continuo and strings
Joel Quarrington (double bass), Eric Robertson (harpsichord), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Vernon (conductor)

04:00 AM
Juozas Naujalis (1869-1934)
Caligaverunt oculi mei (My eyes are blinded by tears), motet
Kaunas State Choir, Petras Bingelis (conductor)

04:05 AM
Luka Sorkočević (1734-1789), arr. Frano Matušic
Symphony no 3 in D major
Dubrovnik Guitar Trio

04:13 AM
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Italian Serenade
Ljubljanski Godalni Quartet [Ljubljana String Quartet]

04:21 AM
Giles Farnaby (c. 1563 - 1640), arr. Elgar Howarth
Fancies, Toyes and Dreams
Brass Consort Köln

04:31 AM
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Recorder Concerto in A minor
Leonard Schelb (recorder), Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck (conductor)

04:40 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
3 Pieces from Slatter (Norwegian Peasant Dances), Op 72
Håvard Gimse (piano)

04:49 AM
Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918)
Zur Absolution, from Ecclesia (cantata): Wohl dem, dem die Übertretungen vergebe
Eesti Projekt Chamber Choir

04:57 AM
Johan Svendsen (1840-1911)
Violin Romance in G major, Op 26
Julia Fischer (violin), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Green (conductor)

05:05 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
8 Instrumental miniatures for 15 instruments
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)

05:13 AM
Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638)
Toccata; Mariona alla vera spagnola, chiaccona
United Continuo Ensemble

05:22 AM
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)
Largo for cello and orchestra
Claudio Bohórquez (cello), Polish Sinfonia luventus Orchestra, Maximiano Valdés (conductor)

05:46 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sonata in D major (Wq.83/H.505)
Les Coucous Bénévoles

06:03 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 2 in G major, Op 18 no 2
Amar Quartet


SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002kqb9)
Boost your morning with classical music

Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002kqbc)
Three hours of classical sparkle

Today, Sarah shares a Chopin waltz that shimmers, a brilliant recording of one of Dvorak’s sprite-like symphonic dances, and a famously difficult concert piece by Monti played on the mandolin.

There’s also a piece that started life as a test for student musicians, a joyful motet by Bach, and the sublime second movement of Bruckner’s seventh symphony.

Plus, today’s Choral Reflection by Ukrainian composer Natalia Tsupryk is inspired by renewal and perseverance in times of darkness.

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3.


SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002kqbf)
Hollie McNish

Hollie McNish has been writing poems about – as she puts it – ‘anything and everything’ since she was seven years old. Her work now reaches audiences of millions, through her books, performances and short videos, making her one of the UK’s most widely shared poets.

In 2017 she won the Ted Hughes Award for her book Nobody Told Me, a collection of poetry and diary entries that she kept from the moment she discovered she was pregnant until her daughter was three. She has published six other collections, including her most recent, Virgin, which explores how one six letter word holds such power.

Her choices include music by Telemann, Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-George, Nina Simone and Tchaikovsky.

Presenter Michael Berkeley
Producer Clare Walker


SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002kqbh)
A journey to Berlioz's overture Le Corsaire

Sara Mohr-Pietsch takes to the high seas to map Berlioz's dramatic overture Le Corsaire. Inspired in part by Lord Byron's swash-buckling poem of the same name, Berlioz packs in romance, listing waves, unsteady feet and a dash of derring-do. Along the way, Sara explores Vivaldi's tempestuous Adriatic and Debussy's Channel at play, and stops at the French Riviera for a mid-century festival performance by Miles Davis. There's music by author James Fennimore Cooper's super-fan Schubert, along with classical music's very own chivalrous swordsman, Joseph Bologne. And there are "ahoy there my hearties" from a mutiny of pirates - courtesy of Purcell, Malcolm Arnold, and who else but Gilbert and Sullivan.

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map.'


SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002kdkc)
Wells Cathedral

Live from Wells Cathedral.

Introit: Locus iste (Bruckner)
Responses: Sarah MacDonald
Psalm 78 (Oakley, Walmisley, Atkins, Goss, Goss, Soaper, Mann)
First Lesson: 1 Chronicles 29 vv10-19
Canticles: Magdalen College Service (Leighton)
Second Lesson: Colossians 3 vv12-17
Anthem: Sing we merrily unto God our strength (Matthew Martin) (first broadcast)
Voluntary: Organ Sonata No 1 (Finale) (Price)

Timothy Parsons (Director of Music)
Carolyn Craig (Assistant Director of Music)

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.


SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002kqbk)
Join our community of jazz lovers. Alyn Shipton is waiting for your requests: email jazzrecordrequests@bbc.co.uk or use #jazzrecordrequests on social.


SUN 17:00 The Early Music Show (m002kqbm)
Palestrina Rediscovered

Hannah French is joined by conductor Graham Ross to explore some modern rediscoveries of Palestrina's music, 500 years after the composer's birth. In recent years, Graham has conducted a number of first recordings of Palestrina's works, including the Missa Sine nomine with the Bevan Family Consort, and more recently, the Missa Emendemus in melius with the choir of Clare College Cambridge. Hannah and Graham also discuss how Palestrina can be placed in a historical context by hearing his music alongside works by some of the composer's English contemporaries, including Mundy and Byrd.

Producer: Ben Collingwood.


SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m002kqbp)
Fire

Readers Alex Kingston and Iain Glen consider the element which has fascinated humans for over one-and-a-half million years: fire. In poetry and prose they reflect on fire’s power to fuel and destroy, its beauty and ability to create ugliness, the way it can purify and refine what’s raw.

Charlotte Brontë praises Jane Eyre’s quick thinking to prevent a house fire, whilst Matilda in Hilaire Belloc’s poem raises a false alarm. Elsewhere, a diary entry by Samuel Pepys recalls the morning after the Great Fire of London, and Jack Spicer takes us to hell alongside Orpheus on his quest for Euridice.

Fiery music includes a Mexican conga by composer Arturo Márquez, Verdi explores the infernos of hell, Judith Weir depicts musical embers and Beethoven is inspired by the punishment of Prometheus, who took fire from the gods and gave it to humanity.

Producer in Salford: Joseph Zubier

Readings:
Autumn Fires (From Child’s Garden of Verses) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
Matilda [excerpt] by Hilaire Belloc
Diaries of Samuel Pepys - Great Fire of London, Sunday 2 September 1666 [excerpt] by Samuel Pepys
Fire Weather: Prologue [excerpt] by John Vaillant
Fifth of November Customs [excerpt], from Folklore, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Mar., 1903) by Mabel Peacock
Jane Eyre [excerpt] by Charlotte Brontë
Hell by Jack Spicer
Rilke: After the Fire by Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. Seamus Heaney
A Day by Emily Dickinson
truth by Gwendolyn Brooks
The Furnace Men by Ronald Wallace
Prometheus [excerpt] by Lord Byron
Song by Simon Armitage
The Firebird [excerpt] by Edmund Dulac


SUN 19:15 Sunday Feature (m002kqbr)
Requiems for the Firestorm - Dresden's Musical Aftermath

80 years ago,on a crystal clear February night, Allied bombers began to transform Dresden, 'Venice on the Elbe', into fiery ruins. Killing some 25,000 people and levelling one of the jewels of European Baroque & a cradle of so much beautiful music making. Among the survivors of the firestorm was Rudolf Mauersberger, kapellmeister of the legendary Kreuzchor. That nighT killed 11 of his choristers. For 3 days he walked home to his tiny village of Mauersberg in the Ore mountains. Within months he had finished the Motet, Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst (How desolate lies the city). Gathering surviving choristers to amid the ruins of the Kreuzkirche, performed to a hushed audience on August 4th, 1945. Offering hope and continuity it was a piece that drew, ironically, on the Lamentations of Jermiah and the destruction of Jerusalem. Mauersberger would soon create a Requiem for the city's fate by 1948. Shostakovich would create his 8th Quartet after visiting Dresden in 1960 but this was a piece for his own tormented soul. For 80 years, every February 13th, after early morning bells ring out their lamentations in the quiet city, people have gathered to hear Requiems, Motets and Berceuses. But how now do you mark the destruction of a city that has been largely restored, where few now remember the actual event? Who is the music for? What is to be remembered? This year Sven Helbig's Requiem A had its first performance in Dresden in February and now in London this October-a Requiem for the living in a new time of war. The historian Katja Hoyer explores 80 years of sounding Dresden's destruction & resurrection & the ways music has sometimes entwined with the complex memory politics of the East German state, a Nazi past & the erasure brought by Reunification.
Producer -Mark Burman


SUN 20:00 Record Review (m002kqbt)
A complete performance of Yshani Perinpanayagam's Building a Library recommendation, plus other fine new releases.


SUN 21:00 20th Century Radicals (m002kqbw)
Harry Partch: Ancient Greece, carpentry and hearing between the lines

Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore present BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. In this episode, Kate explores the homemade instruments and microtonal experimentation of the boho American radical Harry Partch, leading to a performance of his piece And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma. Along the way, we’ll stumble upon a forgotten Australian modernist who was working with the alternative tuning systems as early as the 1920s, discover how Partch’s ultra modern music was inspired by Ancient Greece, and learn what the more modern popular maverick Tom Waits had to say about Partch’s music.

Produced by Sam Phillips
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play 20th Century Radicals”


SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m002kqby)
Blissful sounds for after-hours

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m0022c52)
Wave Patterns

Join us on a journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds as Elizabeth Alker offers up a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists. Expect to hear from emerging independent creators whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form as well as the latest from a new generation of contemporary composers whose output is infused with the spirit of rock, pop and electronica. This week's show features expansive electronic vistas from Ben Lukas Boysen, playful chamber music from cellist Okkyung Lee and Welsh producer Koreless with a new slice of sculpted dance music.

Produced by Geoff Bird
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

MONDAY 20 OCTOBER 2025

MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002kqc2)
Bells from Estonia

The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra performs Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, Rachmaninov's The Bells, Thomas Adès's America: A Prophecy and Lepo Sumera's second symphony. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Arvo Pärt (b.1935)
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor)

12:37 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
The Bells, Op 35, choral symphony
Elena Brazhnyk (soprano), Mati Turi (tenor), Egils Siliņš (baritone), Latvian State Choir, Marika Austruma (choirmaster), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor)

01:13 AM
Thomas Adès (b.1971)
America: A Prophecy
Emma Bell (soprano), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor)

01:39 AM
Lepo Sumera (1950-2000)
Symphony no 2
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor)

01:58 AM
Tõnu Kõrvits (b.1969)
Head ööd
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts (conductor)

02:03 AM
Lepo Sumera (1950-2000)
Pala aastast 1981 (A Piece from 1981)
Kadri-Ann Sumera (piano)

02:10 AM
Eduard Tubin (1905-1982)
Ave Maria
Eesti Rahvusmeeskoor [Estonian National Male Choir], Andres Paas (organ), Ants Sööts (director)

02:15 AM
Ester Mägi (1922-2021)
Bucolic
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Arvo Volmer (conductor)

02:25 AM
Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918)
Vivit (motet)
Eesti Projekt Chamber Choir

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 13 in B flat, Op 130 with Grosse Fugue in B flat, Op 133
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (director)

03:21 AM
Carl Czerny (1791-1857)
Marcia funebre sulla morte di Luigi van Beethoven, Op 146
José Gallardo (piano)

03:29 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Adagio and allegro, Op 70
Li-Wei (cello), Gretel Dowdeswell (piano)

03:39 AM
Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Badinage & Chaconne from Deuxieme Recreation de musique d'une execution facile
Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

03:48 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Premiere Rhapsodie
Camerata Variabile Basel

03:56 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Song to the Moon from Rusalka, Op 114
Yvonne Kenny (soprano), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Kamirski (conductor)

04:03 AM
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-1865)
Variations on The Last Rose of Summer
Ju-young Baek (violin)

04:09 AM
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
Vltava (Moldau), from 'Má vlast' (My Homeland)
Kotaro Fukuma (piano)

04:21 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to L' Italiana in Algeri
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox (conductor)

04:31 AM
Alessandro Savioli (b.1544), Giovanni Battista Guarini (author)
Cor mio, deh non languire
Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director)

04:35 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in G minor (K 88) arranged for 2 harpsichords
Dagmara Kapczyńska / Gwennaëlle Alibert (harpsichord)

04:43 AM
Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947)
Dance Vision (Tanssinaky), Op 11
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jorma Panula (conductor)

04:52 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Trio in E flat major, D.897 "Notturno"
Grieg Trio

05:02 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Roberta Invernizzi (soprano), Annemieke Cantor (alto), Gerhard Nennemann (tenor), Furio Zanasi (bass), Chorus of Swiss-Italian Radio, Ensemble Vanitas Lugano, Diego Fasolis (conductor)

05:16 AM
Gaspar Cassadó (1897-1966)
Cello Suite
Cameron Crozman (cello)

05:29 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Piano Concerto no 3 (Sz.119)
Jane Coop (piano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

05:54 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arr. J S Bach/ David Baldwin
Concerto in D minor
Brass Consort Köln

06:05 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet no 63 in B flat major, Op 76 no 4, Hob. III:78 ('Sunrise')
Pacific Quartet Vienna


MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002ksnn)
Start the day with classical music

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m002ksnq)
Your perfect classical playlist

Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.

1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.

1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.

1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.

1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”


MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002ksns)
Mozart and chansons françaises from pianist Alexandre Tharaud live at Wigmore Hall.

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

The week begins with a live concert from London's Wigmore Hall, with pianist Alexandre Tharaud paying tribute to his native Paris and its vibrant musical history. Beginning with Mozart, his imaginative programme moves via Poulenc's tender homage to Édith Piaf and Gérard Pesson’s ‘piano chanson’ after the legendary poet-singer Barbara, to Alexis Weissenberg’s toe-tapping take on a Charles Trenet hit.

The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra are our ensemble in focus this week, with music stretching from Haydn to Prokofiev. Today, we hear them in a pair of Shakespearean pieces: Richard Strauss’s tone poem Macbeth and Mendelssohn’s beloved Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Plus we are spending time all week at this year’s East Neuk Festival, which took place in June. From the picturesque stretch of Fife coastline we hear former Radio 3 New Generation Artists the Pavel Haas Quartet perform music by Beethoven, and clarinettist Sergio Pires performs solo music by Stravinsky.

1pm
Live from Wigmore Hall, London. Presented by Hannah French.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata in A major, K331

Francis Poulenc
Improvisation No 15 in C minor 'Hommage à Edith Piaf'

Francis Poulenc
Les chemins de l'amour

Jacques Brel arr. Abdel Raman El Bacha
Ne me quitte pas

Gerard Pesson
Noir dormant (d’après Barbara)

Charles Trenet arr. Jean Wiéner
L'âme des poètes

Charles Trenet arr. Jean Wiéner
Mes jeunes années

Charles Trenet arr. Alexis Weissenberg
Monsieur, vous oubliez votre cheval

Alexandre Tharuad (piano)

***

Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Overture)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in F major, Op. 135
Pavel Haas Quartet

Dmitri Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat, Op. 107
Senja Rummukainen (cello)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor)

Igor Stravinsky
3 Pieces for solo clarinet
Sergio Pires (clarinet)

Richard Strauss
Macbeth, Op. 23
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002ksnv)
Johann Strauss the younger

Waltzing in Vienna

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, the “waltz king” as he strives to make it in Vienna, a city whose music scene was dominated by his own father.

In the composer’s 200th anniversary year, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, who became so popular for his operettas and Viennese waltzes that he would be dubbed “The Waltz King”. In his time his huge popularity was akin to a pop star or Hollywood film icon today, and his music filled the ballrooms of Europe and America. Over the course of the week, we’ll see how he made his name, and overcame setbacks to become one of the most famous figures in all of Europe.

In Monday’s episode, Donald explores how Strauss strove to make it in Vienna, a city whose music scene was dominated by, among others, his own father. Despite being discouraged from pursuing a career in music, before the age of 20, Strauss had formed his own orchestra and made his debut appearance in the city. However, he didn’t have it easy, and was forced to look for work outside of Vienna, with his father’s popularity far outweighing his own. This despite a scandal which engulfed the elder Strauss, as after a string of affairs, Johann Junior’s mother instigated divorce proceedings.

Wiener Blut, Op 354
Johann Strauss Orchestra of Vienna
Willi Boskovsky, conductor

Accellerationen Walzer, Op 234
Vienna Philharmonic
Carlos Kleiber, conductor

Pizzicato Polka, Op 449
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Jarvi, conductor

Gunstwerber, Op 4
Berlin Philharmonic
Robert Stolz, conductor

Jugend Traume, Op 12
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Pollack, conductor

Sangerfahrten, Op 41
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
Alfred Walter, conductor

Kaiser Franz Joseph: I. Rettungs-Jubel-Marsch, Op 126
Vienna Philharmonic
Niklaus Harnoncourt, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West


MON 17:00 In Tune (m002ksnx)
World-class classical music – live

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002ksnz)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002ksp1)
Schubert's Unfinished Symphony

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performs a highly lyrical programme of symphonies by Schubert and Zemlinsky, and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. They are joined by two of the most sought-after singers, the soprano Claudia Boyle and the baritone Roderick Williams

Schubert started writing his 8th Symphony in B minor in 1822, six years before his death, but only completed two movements. Nobody knows why he left the work unfinished, but the two movements that exist have become some of Schubert's most beloved music, full of powerful drama and breathtaking melodies.

Alexander Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony owes a clear debt to his contemporary Mahler and his Das Lied von der Erde. He looked East to set poems by the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore and creating a stunning seven-movement operatic symphony that explores the ideas of longing and desire.

Presented by Martin Handley and recorded on 8th October at the Lighthouse in Poole.

SCHUBERT Symphony No.8 in B minor, D.759 ‘Unfinished’

Interval

ZEMLINSKY Lyric Symphony

Claudia Boyle (soprano)
Roderick Williams (baritone)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)

To listen on most smart speakers just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".


MON 21:45 The Essay (m002ksp3)
The Song Detectorists

6. Shropshire

Matthew Bannister is in Shropshire as he travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician and Nancy Kerr.

In Bishop's Castle, Matthew is tracking down Thomas Owens, a thatcher, who also composed West Gallery music for local church bands and choirs in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Nancy Kerr and the Melrose Quartet lead a crowd of hundreds in singing one of Owens' psalm settings at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival, as they rewild his music back into the county where it was composed. Matthew visits the Shropshire Archives in Shrewsbury to examine Thomas Owens' remarkable manuscript music book, The Shropshire Harmony. The music has been explored by researchers from the Music Heritage Place project and Professor Stephen Rose, of Royal Holloway, University of London who leads the team joins Matthew to guide him through it.

Music is performed by The Melrose Quartet: Jess Arrowsmith, Richard Arrowsmith, Jamas Fagan and Nancy Kerr

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3


MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002ksp5)
Immersive music for moonlight

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002ksp7)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.

TUESDAY 21 OCTOBER 2025

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002ksp9)
The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra performs Ives, Barber and Schumann

Antonello Manacorda conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in Ives' The Unanswered Question, Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with soprano Maria Bengtsson and Schumann's Symphony no 2. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
The Unanswered Question (1946 rev. version)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antonello Manacorda (conductor)

12:37 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op 24
Maria Bengtsson (soprano), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antonello Manacorda (conductor)

12:54 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony no 2 in C major, Op 61
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antonello Manacorda (conductor)

01:32 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Impromptu in E major
Diana Ketler (piano)

01:35 AM
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915)
Ein Wintermarchen (A winter's tale) - Overture
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Ervin Lukács (conductor)

01:45 AM
Leonardo Leo (1694-1744)
Miserere Mei Deus - concertato a due chori
Ensemble William Byrd, Graham O'Reilly (conductor)

02:02 AM
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006), arr. John Wallace
Flourish for a Birthday, Op 44
Royal Academy of Music Brass Soloists, Unknown (organ)

02:06 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Violin Sonata no 2 in G major, Op 13
Marianne Thorsen (violin), Håvard Gimse (piano)

02:26 AM
Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (1801-1878), Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (lyricist)
En sommerafton (A summer Evening) from 'Om vinterkvall' (Of a Winter's Eve)
Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson (conductor)

02:31 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no 22 In E flat major, Hob.1:22 'The Philosopher'
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)

02:48 AM
César Franck (1822-1890)
Cello Sonata in A major
Andreas Brantelid (cello), Bengt Forsberg (piano)

03:18 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Gloria in Excelsis Deo, BWV.191
Ann Monoyios (soprano), Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Ivars Taurins (conductor)

03:33 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Prelude in C sharp minor, Op 45
Ivo Pogorelich (piano)

03:39 AM
François Couperin (1668-1733)
La Francoise, Trio Sonata from 'Les Nations'
Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

03:46 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
O clarissima Mater (respond)
Rondellus

03:55 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto for 3 oboes, 3 violins and continuo in B flat major, TWV.44:43
Il Gardellino

04:05 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Ch'io mi scordi di te ...? Non temer, amato bene, K.505
Andrea Rost (soprano), Zóltan Kocsis (piano), Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zóltan Kocsis (conductor)

04:16 AM
William Byrd (1543-1623)
Firste Pavian and Galliarde
Andreas Borregaard (accordion)

04:22 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture from Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Polska Orkiestra Radiowa, Wojciech Rajski (conductor)

04:31 AM
František Jiránek (1698-1778)
Bassoon Concerto in F major
Sergio Azzolini (bassoon), Collegium Marianum, Jana Semerádová (director)

04:41 AM
Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Lord, let me know mine end (Songs of Farewell)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

04:52 AM
François Couperin (1668-1733)
Douzieme concert a deux violes (from 'Les Gouts reunis, Paris 1724)
Violes Esgales

05:01 AM
William Walton (1902-1983)
'Spitfire' prelude and fugue for orchestra
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)

05:09 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Prelude and Fugue in G minor (BuxWV.149)
Mario Penzar (organ)

05:18 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), orch. Claude Debussy
Gymnopédies no 3 and no 1
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)

05:25 AM
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953)
Zwischen dir und mir; Herzendiebchen (Op 17 nos 4 & 5)
Rachel Ann Morgan (mezzo soprano), Frans van Ruth (piano)

05:30 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
String Quartet no 12 in F major, Op 96, 'American'
Pavel Haas Quartet

05:58 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Capriccio Italien, Op 45
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko (conductor)

06:14 AM
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Histoire du Tango
Jadwiga Kotnowska (flute), Leszek Potasiński (guitar), Grzegorz Frankowski (double bass)


TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002kssn)
Wake up your senses with classical music

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002kssq)
Great classical music for your morning

Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.

1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.

1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.

1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.

1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”


TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002ksss)
Mendelssohn’s Octet and Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto

Linton Stephens showcases an afternoon of specially recorded performances from the UK and from around the globe.

The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra are our ensemble in focus this week, with music stretching from music Haydn to Prokofiev. The programme opens with Richard Strauss’s extravagant tone poem depicting the folk prankster Till Eulenspiegel, and later in the programme we’ll also hear Rachmaninov’s trio of Symphonic Dances.

We’re also spending time all week at this year’s East Neuk Festival, which took place in June on the picturesque Fife coast. Two superb string groups – the Belcea and Castalian Quartets – join forces for Mendelssohn’s ebullient Octet, and there’s also music by Kurtag, his Hommage to Robert Schumann, performed by clarinettist Sergio Pires and friends.

And there’s a highlight from this year’s George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest, with Polish pianist Jan Lisiecki joining the Academy of St Martin in the Fields for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

1pm
Richard Strauss
Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

Felix Mendelssohn
Octet, Op. 20
Belcea Quartet
Castalian Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Jan Lisiecki (piano)
Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields

Leokadiya Kashperova
Night
BBC Singers
Hilary Campbell (conductor)

Gustave Samazeuilh
Prelude (Suite in G Minor)
Chiyan Wong (piano)

Sergei Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Petr Popelka (conductor)

Gyorgy Kurtag
Homage a R. Sch.
Sergio Pires (clarinet)
Emma Wernig (viola)
Chiyan Wong (piano)

Jean Sibelius
Andante Festivo
Belcea Quartet
Castalian Quartet
Elias Quartet
Pavel Haas Quartet

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002kssv)
Johann Strauss the younger

Revolution

Donald Macleod explores how Johann Strauss II fared in Vienna as revolution swept across Europe in 1848.

In the composer’s 200th anniversary year, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, who became so popular for his operettas and Viennese waltzes that he would be dubbed “The Waltz King”. In his time his huge popularity was akin to a pop star or Hollywood film icon today, and his music filled the ballrooms of Europe and America. Over the course of the week, we’ll see how he made his name, and overcame setbacks to became one of the most famous figures in all of Europe.

In Tuesday’s programme, Donald explores how Johann Strauss II fared in Vienna as revolution swept across Europe in 1848. The tumult was to affect him and his prospects of work in the city for a long time because he sided with the revolutionaries, against both the old regime and his own father. Donald discovers why Strauss himself was arrested, interrogated and charged by the police, and he also follows the immense funeral procession through the streets of Vienna as Strauss’ father dies and is laid to rest.

Explosions Polka, Op 43
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Erich Kunzel, conductor

Revolutions-marsch, Op 54
Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra
Franz Bauer-Theussl, conductor

Freiheits-Lieder, Op 52
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alfred Eschwe, conductor

Der Zigeunebaron: Her die Hand (the recruiting song)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, tenor
Bavarian Radio Chorus
Das Munchner Rundfunkorchester
Willi Boskovsky, conductor

Ligourianer Scherzo-Polka, Op 57
Johann Strauss Orchester
Herbert Siebert, conductor

Geisselhiebe Polka, Op 60
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
Alfred Walter, conductor

Traumbild
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Michael Dittrich, conductor

Emperor Waltz, Op 437
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Jacek Kaspszyk, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West


TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002kssx)
World-class classical music – live

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m0024m37)
Power through with classical music

A relaxing mix of classical music for half an hour, featuring trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth’s soothing Adagio from a concerto by Marcello, as well as piano music by Ravel, plus music inspired by the tallest mountain in the United States – Ola Gjeilo’s sublime setting of the Ave Maria. To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape”


TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002kst1)
Schubert's Schwanengesang from East Neuk Festival 2025

A concert celebrating the music of Schubert from this year's East Neuk Festival and performed at Crail Parish Church in Fife. The Pavel Haas Quartet open the concert with music by Leoš Janáček, his String Quartet No 1 which he called his "Kreutzer Sonata" written in October 1923 and inspired by a Tolstoy novella of the same name.

The quartet are then joined by cellist Ivan Vokač for Schubert's Quintet in C, a wonderfully expressive piece of chamber music and written only a few months before the composer's death in 1828.

To finish, Schubert's song cycle "Schwanengesang" D.957, performed by tenor Mark Padmore, baritone James Newby with pianist Joseph Middleton.

Presented by Stephen Broad


TUE 21:45 The Essay (m002kst3)
The Song Detectorists

7. Lincolnshire

Matthew Bannister is in Lincolnshire as he travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician Nancy Kerr.

Matthew is in the village of Holton Le Moor to hear about the music books of the Dixons, a farming family on the rise in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He meets Carol Dawson, a local musician, at a crossroads to hear her play a tune on the fiddle. The Dixon books includes a tune, Yarborough’s March, which is only found in this book. The book also contains songs that later went on to be sung by the folk singers like Joseph Taylor whose versions were collected and recorded by Percy Grainger. Professor Kirsten Gibson, of Newcastle University and the Music Heritage Place project, explains that there is lots of evidence of rural farming families being musically literate and musically engaged at this time.

Music is performed by The Melrose Quartet: Jess Arrowsmith, Richard Arrowsmith, Jamas Fagan and Nancy Kerr

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3


TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002kst5)
Music for the still of night

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002kst7)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.

WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2025

WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002kst9)
Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky from Ljubljana

Violinist Rok Zaletel Černoš joins the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto which is followed by Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Vito Žuraj (b.1979)
Api danza macabra
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Catherine Larsen-Maguire (conductor)

12:36 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64
Rok Zaletel Černoš (violin), RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Catherine Larsen-Maguire (conductor)

01:05 AM
Manuel Ponce (1882-1948)
Estrellita
Rok Zaletel Černoš (violin)

01:08 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Symphony No 5 in E minor Op 64
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Catherine Larsen-Maguire (conductor)

01:56 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Venetian Boat Song from 'Songs Without Words', book II, Op.30'6
Jane Coop (piano)

02:00 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
String Quartet no 1 in D major, Op 11
Tämmel String Quartet

02:31 AM
Pierre de la Rue (1452-1518)
Missa Sancto Job
Orlando Consort

03:06 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata no 17 in D major, D.850
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)

03:45 AM
Janez Gregorc (1934-2012)
Sans respirer, sans soupir
Slovene Brass Quintet

03:51 AM
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915)
Scherzo for orchestra in E minor, Op 19
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Adam Medveczky (conductor)

03:57 AM
Ciprian Porumbescu (1853-1883)
Ballade for violin and piano
Razvan Stoica (violin), Andrea Stoica (piano)

04:03 AM
Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
To a Nordic Princess (bridal song) vers. piano
Leslie Howard (piano)

04:10 AM
Victor Herbert (1859-1924)
March of the Toys from the operetta "Babes in Toyland"
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)

04:14 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade for piano no 3 in A flat major, Op 47
Valerie Tryon (piano)

04:22 AM
Willem De Fesch (1687-1761)
Concerto in D major (Op.5 No.1)
Musica ad Rhenum

04:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), arr. Francesco Squarcia
3 Hungarian Dances
I Cameristi Italiani

04:39 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), arr. Edvard Grieg
Sonata for piano in C major, K545
Julie Adam (piano), Daniel Herscovitch (piano)

04:49 AM
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1731)
Das Blut Jesu Christi
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)

04:58 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sonata no 7 for 2 violins in E minor, Z.796
Simon Standage (violin), Ensemble Il Tempo

05:06 AM
Tauno Pylkkanen (1918-1980)
Suite for oboe and strings, Op 32
Aale Lindgren (oboe), Finnish Radio Orchestra, Petri Sakari (conductor)

05:15 AM
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Adagio for viola and piano
Manuel Hofer (viola), Alasdair Beatson (piano)

05:24 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Suite no 2 for 2 pianos, Op 17
Ouellet-Murray Duo (piano duo)

05:48 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Gloria in excelsis Deo, SV 258
Collegium Vocale 1704, Collegium 1704, Václav Luks (conductor)

06:00 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Trio no 5 in D major, Op 70 no 1, 'Ghost'
Swiss Piano Trio


WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002kshn)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002kshq)
The best classical morning music

Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.

1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.

1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.

1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.

1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”


WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002kshs)
Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto and Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra are our ensemble in focus this week, with Sebastian Berner joining them as soloist in Haydn’s beloved Trumpet Concerto today.

We’re also spending time all week in the picturesque East Neuk of Fife, hearing music recorded specially for us at the East Neuk Festival in June. Today, the Belcea Quartet play one of Beethoven’s late, great quartets, and principal clarinettist of the London Symphony Orchestra Sergio Pres is joined by violist Emma Wernig and pianist Chiyan Wong for music by Robert Schumann.

Plus we’re back in Bucharest with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields playing Prokofiev’s First Symphony, nicknamed the ‘Classical’, from their recent concert at the at the George Enescu International Festival.

1pm
Joseph Haydn
Trumpet Concerto in E flat major
Sebastian Berner (trumpet)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alain Altinoglu (conductor)

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131
Belcea Quartet

Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, ‘Classical’
Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Francesca Caccini
Sinfonia and Bergamasca
Capella de la Torre
Katharina Bauml (director)

Dorothy Howell
Lamia
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Rumon Gamba (conductor)

Robert Schumann
Märchenerzählungen, Op.132
Sergio Pires (clarinet)
Emma Wernig (viola)
Chiyan Wong (piano)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002kshv)
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin

Choral Vespers from St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, with the Palestrina Choir.

Introit: Sicut cervus (Palestrina)
Invitatory: Deus in adjutorium (Plainsong)
Office Hymn: Vir celse (Plainsong)
Psalm 27 (Plainsong, Mawby)
Canticle: Colossians 1 vv12-20 (Daniel Justin)
Reading: 1 Peter 5 vv1-4
Magnificat Primi Toni a 5 (Palestrina)
Motet: Tu es Petrus (Palestrina)
Hymn: Christ be near at either hand (Gartan)
Marian Antiphon: Salve regina (Palestrina)
Voluntary: Fugue on the Magnificat (BWV 733) (Bach)

Blánaid Murphy (Director of Music)
David Grealy (Organist)

Recorded 8 October.

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.


WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002kshx)
Johann Strauss the younger

One Strauss

Donald Macleod explores how Johann Strauss II fared after his father’s death, driving himself relentlessly hard to try to establish himself as the pre-eminent musician in Vienna.

In the composer’s 200th anniversary year, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, who became so popular for his operettas and Viennese waltzes that he would be dubbed “The Waltz King”. In his time his huge popularity was akin to a pop star or Hollywood film icon today, and his music filled the ballrooms of Europe and America. Over the course of the week, we’ll see how he made his name, and overcame setbacks to become one of the most famous figures in all of Europe.

In Wednesday’s episode, Donald explores how Johann Strauss II fared after his father’s death, driving himself relentlessly hard to try to establish himself as the pre-eminent musician in Vienna. In the wake of this unbearable workload, the composer falls ill, with one paper even reporting his death!

Fruhlingsstimmen, Op 410
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester
Michael Schønwandt, conductor

Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op 214
Orchestra of the Viennese Voilksoper
Alfred Scholz, conductor

Albion Polka, Op 102
Vienna Philharmonic
Riccardo Muti, conductor

Mephistos Hollenrufe, Waltz, Op 101
Vienna Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Liebeslieder, Op 114
Vienna Volksoper Orchestra
Cesare Cantieri, conductor

Phoenix-Schwingen Walzer, Op 125
Vienna Philharmonic
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Myrthen-Kranze, Op 154
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Oliver von Dohnanyi, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West


WED 17:00 In Tune (m002kshz)
The classical soundtrack for your evening

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002ksj1)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002ksj3)
Respighi's Roman Festivals

The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nil Venditti play Puccini, Respighi, Fazil Say's Grand Bazaar, and Anna Clyne's Grasslands with saxophone soloist Jess Gillam.

Recorded at the Barbican, London. Presented by Martin Handley.

Fazil Say: Grand Bazaar
Anna Clyne: Glasslands (London premiere)

Interval

Giacomo Puccini: Preludio sinfonico
Ottorino Respighi: Feste romane

Jess Gillam (saxophone)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Nil Venditti (conductor)

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul: a trading place of civilisations, in which the tales told are as countless as the treasures for sale. The eternal city of Rome, where la dolce vita thrives amid the memory of far older – and more savage – celebrations. An Irish legend of banshees and night terrors, retold by two of 21st century Britain’s liveliest musical voices and highlighting the wonderfully communicative gifts of saxophone virtuoso Jess Gillam.

Well, they say a musical picture is worth a thousand words, and for Turkish composer Fazil Say, his vibrant home city represents a place “without any borders, not even in the mind.” Closing the concert is Respighi’s Feste romane: a blockbuster Roman tone-poem that certainly doesn’t hold back.


WED 21:45 The Essay (m002ksj5)
The Song Detectorists

8. Wiltshire

Matthew Bannister is in Wiltshire as he travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician Nancy Kerr.


WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002ksj7)
Immersive music for after-hours

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002ksj9)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.

THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2025

THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002ksjc)
Festival Strings Lucerne and pianist Claire Huangci

Works by Strauss, Sommer and Schumann performed by Festival Strings Lucerne and pianist Claire Huangci. Presented by John Shea.

12:31 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Variations on a Bavarian folksong, TrV.109
Daniel Dodds (violin), Dominik Fischer (viola), Alexander Kionke (cello)

12:38 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Arabischer Tanz
Daniel Dodds (violin), Dominik Fischer (viola), Alexander Kionke (cello), Claire Huangci (piano)

12:41 AM
Hans Sommer (1837 - 1922)
Piano Quartet in G minor WoO
Daniel Dodds (violin), Dominik Fischer (viola), Alexander Kionke (cello), Claire Huangci (piano)

01:09 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op 47
Daniel Dodds (violin), Dominik Fischer (viola), Alexander Kionke (cello), Claire Huangci (piano)

01:35 AM
Hans Huber (1852-1921)
Cello Sonata no 4 in B flat major, Op 130
Esther Nyffenegger (cello), Desmond Wright (piano)

02:01 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886), arr. Joachim Raff
Overture to 'Herders Entfesseltem Prometheus'
Orchestra of the Zurich University of the Arts, Marc Kissoczy (conductor)

02:18 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856),arr. Franz Liszt
Widmung, Op 25 no 1
Jorge Bolet (piano)

02:22 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Traumerei am Kamin: Symphonic interlude no.2 from Intermezzo, Op 72
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)

02:31 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
6 Moments musicaux, Op 16
Lazar Berman (piano)

03:01 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no 103 in E flat major "Drum Roll", H.1.103
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)

03:31 AM
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566-1613)
Miserere
Camerata Silesia, Anna Szostak (conductor)

03:42 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Rapsodie espagnole vers. for 2 pianos
Aglika Genova (piano), Liuben Dimitrov (piano)

03:55 AM
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Toccata VII primo tono, for harpsichord
Johannes Keller (harpsichord)

04:02 AM
Boldizsár Csiky (b.1937)
Divertimento for wind ensemble
Budapest Wind Ensemble, Kálmán Berkes (leader)

04:15 AM
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872), Adam Mickiewicz (author)
Niepewnosc (Uncertainty)
Urszula Kryger (mezzo soprano), Katarzyna Jankowska-Borzykowska (piano)

04:18 AM
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Nocturno for harp
Branka Janjanin-Magdalenič (harp)

04:23 AM
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Seascape, Op 53
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)

04:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Scherzo in C minor (from F-A-E Sonata)
David Petrlik (violin), Renata Ardasevova (piano)

04:37 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in F, Rv 571 for violin, 2 oboes, 2 horns, bassoon & cello
Zefira Valova (violin), Anna Starr (oboe), Markus Müller (oboe), Anneke Scott (horn), Joseph Walters (horn), Moni Fischaleck (bassoon), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

04:47 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op 72 no 2
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor)

04:53 AM
Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Trois Pièces Brèves for wind quintet
Ariart Woodwind Quintet

05:01 AM
Filip Kutev (1903-1982)
Pastoral for flute and orchestra
Lidia Oshavkova (flute), Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dimitar Manolov (conductor)

05:12 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Gloria in Excelsis Deo, BWV.191
Ann Monoyios (soprano), Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Ivars Taurins (conductor)

05:27 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no 21 in C major, K.467
Jon Kimura Parker (piano), CBC Radio Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

05:56 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Quartet no 2 in A minor, Op 13
Pacific Quartet Vienna


THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002kskn)
Kickstart your day with the best classical music

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002kskq)
The ideal mix of classical music

Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.

1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.

1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.

1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.

1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”


THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002ksks)
Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 from Frankfurt

In an afternoon of specially recorded performances Linton Stephens introduces chamber music highlights from the East Neuk Festival in Fife plus the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Alain Altinoglu performing Brahms's Symphony No. 3.

The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra are our ensemble in focus this week. Today we hear them in a a double helping of music by Brahms – his orchestral Variations on a Theme by Haydn and his exuberant Symphony No. 3. Plus cellist Kian Soltani joins the orchestra for Prokofiev’s symphonic Cello Concerto.

We’re also spending time all week in the picturesque East Neuk of Fife, hearing music recorded specially for us at the East Neuk Festival in June. Four superb ensembles – the Belcea, Castalian, Elias and Pavel Haas Quartets – combine to form a string supergroup, giving the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s piece Field of Stars. There’s also Mozart from clarinettist Sergio Pires and friends.

1pm
Johannes Brahms
Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alain Altinoglu (conductor)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Trio in E flat major K.498 (Kegelstatt) for clarinet, viola and piano
Emma Wernig (viola)
Sergio Pires (clarinet)
Chiyan Wong (piano)

Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alain Altinoglu (conductor)

Sally Beamish
Field of Stars for 4 string quartets [World Premiere]
Belcea Quartet
Castalian Quartet
Elias Quartet
Pavel Haas Quartet

Sergei Prokofiev
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 58
Kian Soltani (cello)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Petr Popelka (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002kskv)
Johann Strauss the younger

Romancing

Donald Macleod explores the many romantic intrigues in the life of Johann Strauss II.

In the composer’s 200th anniversary year, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, who became so popular for his operettas and Viennese waltzes that he would be dubbed “The Waltz King”. In his time his huge popularity was akin to a pop star or Hollywood film icon today, and his music filled the ballrooms of Europe and America. Over the course of the week, we’ll see how he made his name, and overcame setbacks to become one of the most famous figures in all of Europe.

In Thursday's programme, Donald explores the many romantic intrigues in Strauss’ life. He returns from illness and swiftly becomes a stellar figure in the musical landscape of Russia, while continuing his domination of the Viennese musical scene. The Austrian press pit him in a Waltz battle against Jacques Offenbach and, though he continues to struggle with an exhausting schedule, he does find time to poke musical fun at the Viennese city improvement works of the period. He also conquers a new genre – Operetta.

Champagne Polka, Op 211
The Halle Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Wiener Frauen, Op 423
Vienna Johann Strauss Orchester
Willi Boskovsky, conductor

Wine, Women and Song, Op 333
The Halle Orchestra
Brydon Thomson, conductor

Morgenblatter, Op 279
Berlin Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Die Fledermaus Overture
Vienna Philharmonic
Andre Previn, conductor

Neu Wien, Op 342
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
Alfred Walter, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West


THU 17:00 In Tune (m002kskx)
Live classical music for your commute

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002kskz)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002ksl1)
Elisabeth Leonskaja plays Mozart

Mozart sets the stage with energy, elegance, and drama - an ideal prelude to an evening of compelling musical storytelling. Guest conductor Ludovic Morlot leads a journey that culminates in the soaring melodies of Sibelius’s epic Second Symphony. At its heart, Elisabeth Leonskaja brings profound artistry to Mozart’s darkly expressive 24th Piano Concerto - one of his most personal works, rich in light and shade. If anyone can uncover its secrets, it’s the legendary Leonskaja.

Live from City Halls, Glasgow, presented by Gillian Moore.

7.30pm
Mozart: Thamos, King of Egypt, K 345
Mozart: Piano Concerto No.24 K491

c. 8.30pm
interval

c. 8.50pm
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major

Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

To listen on most smart speakers just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".


THU 21:45 The Essay (m002ksl3)
The Song Detectorists

9. Northamptonshire

Matthew Bannister is in Wiltshire as he travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician Nancy Kerr.


THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002ksl5)
Reflective music for the day’s end

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002ksl7)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.

FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2025

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002ksl9)
Jakub Józef Orliński with Il Pomo d'Oro at the BBC Proms

A Late Night Prom from 2024 featuring golden-voiced Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński with regular collaborators Il Pomo d’Oro for a journey through the music of the early Baroque. John Shea presents.

12:31 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
E pur io torno qui, from 'L’incoronazione di Poppea'; Voglio di vita uscir
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

12:46 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Passacaglia in G minor, Op 22
Il Pomo d'Oro

12:53 AM
Giulio Caccini (1551-1618)
Amarilli, mia bella, from 'Le Nuove Musiche'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

12:57 AM
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Cosi mi disprezzate, from 'Arie musicali, Book I'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:00 AM
Johann Caspar Kerll (1627-1693), Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
Sonata for Two Violins in F (Kerll); L'amante consolato (Strozzi)
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:13 AM
Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Incomprensibil nume, from 'Pompeo Magno'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:16 AM
Carlo Pallavicino (1630-1688)
Sinfonia from 'Demetrio'
Il Pomo d'Oro

01:19 AM
Giovanni Cesare Netti (1649-1686), Antonio Sartorio (1630-1680)
Giovanni Cesare Netti: Misero core; Si, si, si scioglia si; Dolcissime catene; Berillo's aria from 'La Filli'
Antonio Sartorio: La certezza di sua fede, from 'Antonino e Pompeiano'.
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:31 AM
Giovanni Cesare Netti (1649-1686)
Quanto più la donna invecchia
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:34 AM
Giovanni Cesare Netti (1649-1686)
Son vecchia, patienza, from 'L’Adamiro'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:39 AM
Adam Jarzebski (1590-1649), Sebastiano Moratelli (1640-1706)
Tamburetta (Jarzebski); Lungi dai nostri cor (Moratelli)
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:47 AM
Giovanni Antonio Boretti (1640-1672)
Chi scherza con Amor, from 'Eliogabalo'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:50 AM
Giuseppe Maria Orlandini (1676-1760)
Che m'ami ti prega, Nerone's aria from Act 1 of 'Nerone'
Jakub Józef Orliński (counter tenor), Il Pomo d'Oro

01:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite for solo cello, no 5 in C minor, BWV.1011
Guy Fouquet (cello)

02:24 AM
Jacques Duphly (1715-1789)
Courante - La Boucon
Colin Tilney (harpsichord)

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 7 in A major, Op 92
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

03:11 AM
Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927)
Violin Sonata in A minor, Op 19
David Oistrakh (violin), Greta Erikson (piano)

03:31 AM
John Foulds (1880-1939)
Isles of Greece, Op 48 no 2
BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)

03:36 AM
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
Variations on 'Mein junges Leben hat ein End'
Academic Wind Quintet

03:44 AM
György Orbán (b.1947)
Cor mundum
Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere (director)

03:51 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Fantasy in C minor (K.396)
Valdis Jancis (piano)

04:01 AM
Francesco Durante (1684-1755)
Concerto per quartetto no 3 in E flat major
Concerto Köln

04:12 AM
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Manon Act 1: Manon and Des Grieux recit and duet
Lyne Fortin (soprano), Richard Margison (tenor), Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Simon Streatfield (conductor)

04:19 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Prelude for piano in C sharp minor, Op 45
Cédric Tiberghien (piano)

04:24 AM
Daniel Auber (1782-1871)
Guoracha - Ballet music no.1 from "La Muette de Portici"
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Viktor Málek (conductor)

04:31 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), arr. Avi Avital
Sonata in G major, Kk.91
Avi Avital (mandolin), Shalev Ad-El (harpsichord)

04:38 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
O vis aeternitatis (Responsorium) for female voice
Sequentia, Elizabeth Gaver (fiddle), Elisabetta de Mircovich (fiddle)

04:46 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The Lark Ascending
Pekka Kuusisto (violin), Basel Symphony Orchestra, Ivor Bolton (conductor)

05:02 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Visions Fugitives, Op 22 (I-VII)
Roger Woodward (piano)

05:10 AM
Imants Zemzaris (b.1951)
Pastorale for Summer Flute for organ
Talivaldis Deksnis (organ)

05:25 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, Hob XXII:7, 'Kleine Orgelmesse'
Henriette Schellenberg (soprano), Vancouver Chamber Choir, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Jon Washburn (conductor)

05:42 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
The Golden spinning-wheel (Zlaty kolovrat) - symphonic poem, Op 109
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)

06:04 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Waldszenen - 9 pieces for piano, Op 82
Stefan Bojsten (piano)


FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002kr56)
Embrace the morning calm of classical music and birdsong

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’


FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002kr58)
Refresh your morning with classical music

Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.

1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.

1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.

1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.

1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”


FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002kr5b)
Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Stravinsky’s Firebird

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances in specially made recordings of orchestras, choirs, ensembles from Europe and around the globe.

We end our week spent in the company of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra with a pair of much-loved orchestral works. Augustin Hadelich is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s joyful Violin Concerto, and Berlioz’s groundbreaking Symphonie Fantastique shows off the orchestra at its most vivid. Plus we hear the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Stravinsky’s Firebird suite.

And we take leave of the picturesque coastline of Fife and this summer’s East Neuk Festival with another chamber highlight from the event, the Belcea Quartet playing Mozart’s ‘Hoffmeister’ string quartet.

1pm
Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Augustin Hadelich (violin)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sebastian Weigle (conductor)

Ervin T. Rouse
Orange Blossom Special
Augustin Hadelich (violin)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet in D major’ K.499 ‘Hoffmeister’
Belcea Quartet

Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird Suite
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Delyana Lazarova (conductor)

Jan Dismas Zelenka
Hipocondrie à 7 Concertanti, ZWV 187
Zefiro
Alfredo Bernardini (director)

Emilie Mayer arr. Julian Riem
Overture to Faust, Op. 47
Daniel Dodds (violin)
Raphaela Gromes (piano)
Duo Tal and Groethuysen (piano)

Hector Berlioz
Symphony Fantastique, Op. 14
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002kr5d)
Johann Strauss the younger

Highs and Lows

Donald Macleod explores the final years of Strauss’ life when he was lauded as a celebrity figure wherever he went, but also endured personal losses and difficulties.

In the composer’s 200th anniversary year, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Johann Strauss II, who became so popular for his operettas and Viennese waltzes that he would be dubbed “The Waltz King”. In his time his huge popularity was akin to a pop star or Hollywood film icon today, and his music filled the ballrooms of Europe and America. Over the course of the week, we’ll see how he made his name, and overcame setbacks to become one of the most famous figures in all of Europe.

In Friday’s programme, Donald explores the final years of Strauss’ life when he was lauded as a celebrity figure wherever he went – an 1890 poll to find the most popular European personalities saw him come 3rd! However, it was a period during which he also endured personal losses and difficulties. Donald finds him visiting America to conduct an extraordinary series of concerts, writing a full scale opera, and marrying for a second, and then a third time.

Thunder and Lightning Polka, Op 324
Vienna Volksoper Orchestra
Carl Michalski, conductor

The Blue Danube, Op 314
Andre Rieu, violin and director
Johann Strauss Orchestra

Blinde Kuh Overture
Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra
Willi Boskovsky, conductor

Kuss Waltzer, Op 400
Vienna Philharmonic
Franz Weilser-Möst, conductor

Ritter Pasman, Op 441 (Czardas)
Vienna Philharmonic
Christian Thielemann, conductor

Jabuka (excerpt)
Veronika Groiss, soprano (Jelka)
Thomas Tischler, tenor (Mirko)
Elisabeth Wolfbauer, mezzo-soprano (Annita)
Wolfgang Veith, tenor (Vasil)
Brno Gaudeamus Choir
European Johann Strauss Orchestra
Christian Pollack, conductor

Roses from the South
Berlin Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & West


FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002kr5h)
Wind down from the day with classical

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002kr5k)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m002kr5m)
A Tribute to Tony Bennett

The BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Richard Balcombe, and special guests Louise Dearman and Lance Ellington pay tribute in music and song to the timeless voice of Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett.

Live from Chichester Festival Theatre.

Presented by Katie Derham.

Bernstein: On the Town Overture
Berlin: Steppin’ Out
Reardon/Distel: The Good Life
Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields: On the Sunny Side of the Street
Kern/Fields: The way you look tonight
Schwartz/Dietz: Dancing in the Dark
Howard: Fly Me to the Moon
Gershwin: ‘S Wonderful
Porter arr Riddle: Adam & Eve Ballet

INTERVAL

Arr Riddle: Sinatra Film Suite
Noble: The Very Thought of You
Rodgers/Hart: My Funny Valentine
Turner/Parsons/Chaplin: Smile
Wright/Forrest: Stranger in Paradise
Riddle: Fidgety Feet
Gershwin arr Riddle: Walking the Dog (Promenade)
Miller/Murden: For Once in my Life
Cross/Cory: I Left my Heart in San Francisco
Adams/Strouse: Put on a Happy Face
Rodgers/Hart: The Lady is a Tramp

Singers: Louise Dearman and Lance Ellington
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor Richard Balcombe


FRI 21:45 The Essay (m002kr5p)
The Song Detectorists

10. Bedfordshire

Matthew Bannister is in Bedfordhsire as he travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician Nancy Kerr.


FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002kr5r)
Journeys in music, ancient to future. The home for adventurous listeners.


FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002kr5t)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.